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By James Hernandez

Another weekend, another highly competitive pre-conference tournament for your Lady Coyotes. This time it was in their own backyard as they hosted the Lady Coyote Volleyball Classic on Friday and Saturday at Las Vegas High School.

The action started Wednesday evening as the Lady Coyotes hosted Edmonds Community College at CSN's North Las Vegas campus. ECC took command of the opening set early with some quality play around the net and timely defense to claim the first set of the match (14-25). Southern Nevada regrouped in set two, matching the Tritons point for point until a late rally allowed Edmonds to escape with a (21-25) victory to give them a 2 sets to zero advantage in the match. A fatigued Lady Coyotes team put up a strong rally in set three, however ECC was too much to handle, defeating CSN in straight sets (14-25, 21-25 and 16-25) to claim the match victory. Match standouts for your Lady Coyotes included Kathy Hernandez with 7 kills and 9 digs as well as Carlee Becker (15 assists) and Logan DeLong (11 assists).

CSN opened up tournament play Friday afternoon with a match versus the Victor Valley Community College Rams, still looking for its first match victory of the 2017 season. A determined young group of Lady Coyotes set the tone for the match in the opening set, dominating the Rams on the way to a decisive (25-15) opening set victory. Set two was nip and tuck affair, however Southern Nevada was able to claim the highly competitive set (25-22) and get one set closer to claiming its first match. With blood in the water the Lady Coyotes pounced on the Rams in set three to claim a straight sets victory (25-15, 25-22 and 25-15) to earn its first match win of the 2017 season. Jaycie Johnson led the way with 10 kills while Carlee Becker (25 assists) and Esmeralda Solano (15 digs) paced the team in assists and digs.

Next up for the Lady Coyotes was unbeaten Glendale Community College. The Gauchos were a perfect 10-0 coming into Friday night's matchup. Southern Nevada was undaunted by the unblemished record of GCC, taking the fight right to them as they claimed a (25-23) opening set victory. Glendale stormed back to edge out CSN in set two (20-25) knotting the match up at a set apiece. Set three was a back and forth affair that the Coyotes were able to edge out (25-23) to gain a two sets to one advantage. GCC came out with purpose in set four, stunning CSN with a lopsided (13-25) victory to claim the set and force a winner-take-all fifth set. It was all Lady Coyotes in set five as they outlasted the Gauchos to claim the match (25-23, 20-25, 25-23, 13-25 and 15-8) in five grueling sets. Southern Nevada was led by Lexi Riggs and Emily Ragsdale with 13 kills apiece as well as Logan DeLong with 23 assists and Esmeralda Solano with 15 digs.

Confidence was sky high around the team after claiming a pair of victories in Friday's tournament games as Coach Thurman's Coyotes looked to extend its winning streak to three matches Saturday versus Palomar College. The Comets and Coyotes battled in the opening set, but it was Palomar who claimed a very entertaining opening set (21-25). With its back against the wall, CSN responded by dominating PC (25-12) to knot the match up at a set apiece. Set three was competitive for a while, however Southern Nevada was able to pull away (25-17) to move to within one set of its third consecutive match victory. A hungry group of Lady Coyotes would not be denied in set four as they finished off the Comets in four sets (21-25, 25-12, 25-17 and 25-13) to run its winning streak to three matches. Jaycie Johnson once again paced the team in kills with 11 while Carlee Becker (18 assists) Logan DeLong (15 assists) and Esmeralda Solano (13 digs) took care of the rest.

CSN's final match of the weekend presented its most formidable opponent, Mira Costa College. The Spartans wasted little time establishing their dominance over the Lady Coyotes, claiming the matches opening set (8-25). Southern Nevada was able to double its scoring output in the second set, but they still fell short, dropping the set (16-25). Despite facing a 2-0 deficit in the match CSN put forth a great effort in set three, but the Spartans were too much for the Lady Coyotes to handle. Mira Costa claimed the match in straight sets (8-25, 16-25 and 21-25) to hand Southern Nevada its only loss of the tournament. Usual suspects Jaycie Johnson (7 kills) Carlee Becker (12 assists) and Esmeralda Solano (9 digs) stuffed the stat box for CSN.

Fans your Lady Coyotes will in Twin Falls, Idaho Friday and Salt Lake City, Utah Saturday to open up conference play versus a pair of nationally ranked foes. For match times and updates all weekend log onto www.csncoyotes.com or follow us on Twitter @CSN_Vball and Facebook CSNCoyotes.